Multiple-signal transmitter.



I N0. 726,944. PATENTED MAY 5, 190's G. E. KING.- MULTIPLE SIGNALTRANSMITTER.

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APPLIOATION FILED APR. 25, 19 00.

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No. 726,944. Patented May 5, 1903.

GEORGE E. KING, OF NEWTON HIGHLAND S, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THEGAMEWELL FIRE ALARM TELEGRAPH 00., OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

-MULTlP LE-SlGN'AL TRANSMITTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 726,944, dated May 5, 1903. Application filed April 25, 1900. Serial No. 14,308. (No model.)

To a, whom it may concern: notches cut in the wheel and arranged in anyBe it known that I, GEORGE E. KING,of 1O predetermined manner. Themultiple-signal Columbus Place, Newton Highlands, county transmitter ofthis typet'. e., which has the of Middlesex, and State of Massachusetts,capability of transmitting a number of dif- 5 have invented anImprovement in Multiple ferent signals in conjunction with a box- SignalTransmitters, of which the following number signalis especially adaptedfor podescription, in connection with the accompalice signalingpurposes, and for this purpose nying drawings,isa specification, likecharacsignal impulsesof both long and shortduraters on the drawingsrepresenting like parts. tion will be employed. IO This inventionrelates to multiple-signal A pointer is preferably employed foropertransmitters, and has for its object to imating the controllingdevice and a dial proprove and simplify the construction of thevidedoverwhich said pointer moves. Means same in many particulars,whereby but one are preferably provided for holding or resignal-wheeland one circuit-operating detaining the pointer in its several dilferentpo- I5 vice will be required for the transmission of sit-ions, and meansare also preferably proanumber of different signals. vided forpositively locking the pointer in In accordance with this invention thesigwhatever position it may be setand retained nal-wheel is formed orprovided with a while the transmitter is operating, and, fursteppedsignaling-surface, and the circuit-opthermore, means are also preferablyprovided 2o erating device is disposed to be operated by forautomatically restoring the pointer to its the stepped signaling-surfaceof said signalnormal position adapted to be operated when wheel, and ,acontrolling device is provided the locking device hasdisengaged thepointer. for varying the position ,of said circuit-oper- Figure 1 showsa front elevation of the mulating device relative to the signal-wheel,tiple-signaltransmitterembodying myinven- 25 whereby its cooperationwith said stepped tion. Fig. 2 is a rear elevation of themulsignaling-surface may be varied for the transtiple signaltransmittershown in Fig. 1. Fig. mission ofthe different signals. 'Tliestepped 3 is a plan View of the multiple-signal transsignaling-surfaceis preferably arranged on mitter shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Fig. 4 is'adothe signal-wheel in such manner that the tail of the restoring devicefor the pointer- 30 steps thereof will occupy difierent distances shaft,to be referred to. Figs. 5 to 13, inclufrom the axis of the wheel, andin' such event sive, are details showing the signal-wheel, the thecircuit-operating device will be held by circuit-operating device, andthe controlling 'the controlling device at different distances devicefor said circuit-operating device in from the axis of saidsignal-wheel'to cooper-- different relative positions, to-be referredto; 35 ate with said stepped signaling-surface for and Fig. 14 .is adiagram of the number of the transmission of the diiferent signals.signals which can be transmitted by the mul- The multiple-signaltransmitter. which is tiple-signal transmitter herein shown. hereinshown for the sake of illustrating this The signal-wheel a, herein shownin black invention not only has the capability of as being composed ofinsulating material, is 0 4o transmitting several different signals, butadapted to be rotated by any suitable train, also transmits the same inconjunction with and said wheel is herein shown as secured to abox-number signal, although so far as my a shaft (2., bearing a pinion(1 which is eninvention is concerned it is not limited to a gaged byatoothed gea1'ct ,seci1red'to a sleeve multiple-signal transmitterhavingsuch capaor hub a mounted loosely upona shaft (1 5 5 bilities. andsaid toothed wheel a carries a pawl a,

The multiple signal transmitter herein which engages a ratchet-toothedwheel a seshown has its signal-wheel formed or procured to said shaft aA winding-arm his vided with a stepped signaling-surface for a securedto said shaft a by means of which number of different signals and alsowith a said shaft is turned in one direction a par- I00 0signaling-surface for a box-number signal, tial revolution independentlyof the toothed which latter may be merely a number of wheel a and amaiuspring b is connected to said shaft of, which serves to restore itand atsuch time rotate the toothed wheel a A toothed gear 0 is securedto the shaft 0/,which engages a pinion a, secured to a shaft 0 (seedotted lines, Fig. 3,) bearing an escape-wheel 0 with which cooperates asuitable pallet 0 secured to a shaft 0 carrying a fan 0". This trainwhen operated is designed to impart to the signal-wheel a one completerevolution, yet in lieu of the train herein shown any other suitableform or construction of train or equivalent motor mechanism may beemployed. The train is herein shown as supported by the face-plates (Zd.

The signal-wheel as herein shown is formed or provided with asignaling-surface for a boxnumber signal, and for simplicity a number ofnotches will be cut in the wheel-as, for instance, there may be a groupe of three notches and a group a of two notches, and in such case thebox-number signal will be 32. The signaling-surface for the box-numbersignal is cut in the edge of the wheel concentric to its axis. Thesignal-wheel a is also formed or provided with a signaling-surface for anumber of different signals in addition tothebox-numbersignal,and,ashereinshown, said signaling-surface is formedby cutting or otherwise providing the wheel with a number of successivesteps, as e e 6 e and said steps are disposed at different distancesfrom the axis of the signal-wheel Ct, as shown in Fig. 2, and they arealso each herein shown concentric to the axis of the wheel. Such asignaling-surface is herein called a stepped signaling-surface. Theseveral steps may be made of the same or of diderent lengths, asdesired, and by referring to Fig. 2 it will be seen that three of saidsteps, as e e e, are made of substantially the same length, and onestep, as e is made quite long, yet so far as my invention is concernedit is immaterial whether the several steps are made long or short. Thesignal-wheel a is thus provided with two signaling-surfaces-one for thedifferent additional signals and one for the boxnumber signal-andconsequently any one of the different additional signals may betransmitted in conjunction with the boxnumber signal; but the essentialfeature of my invention will be comprehended even if said boxnumbersignaling-surface should be eliminated.

The circuit-operating device consists of, two independent contact-pensff, adapted to engage and disengage each other to make and break thecircuit, and one of said contactpens, as f, is rigidly secured to ablock f of insulating material, which is pivoted at f to one of theface-plates of the frame, said block thereby serving as a pivotedsupport for said contact-pen f, and. the other contact-pen, as f, ispivoted at)" to said. pivoted block or support f and said pivotedcontact-penf is held pressed into engagement with the contact-pen f bymeans of a spring f which is attached at one end to an arm or projectionf on said contact-pen f and at the opposite end to a fixed insulatedpoint. The contact-pens each have acontact-point f disposed intermediateits length, and said contact-points are arranged on the adjacent facesof said pens, so as to engage each other. One of the circuit-wires, as2, is connected to one of said contact-pens, as to f, and the othercircuitwire, as 3, is connected to the other contactpen, as to f. Thecontact-pen f has a projection 9 intermediate its length which engagesor cooperates with the signal-wheel a, and the contact-pen f has aprojection g, also intermediate its length, which likewise engages orcooperates with said signal-wheel a, and said projections g and g aredisposed one in advance of the other, as shown, so that first one andthen the other will drop onto the stepped portions or into the notchesof the signal-wheel as said signal-wheel revolves. The spring f inaddition to holding the contact-pen f in engagement with the contactpenf exerts its action upon the pivoted block or support f and therebypresses said pens into engagement with the signal-wheel. If no meanswere provided for otherwise controlling the position of saidcircuit-operating device or if the means provided for this purpose, aswill be described, were thrown out of operative connection withsaidcircuit-operating device, as shown in Fig. 13, then the operation of theparts as thus far described will be as follows: As the signal-wheel arevolves, first the projection g will drop onto the first step 6 and thecontact-penf will thereby be moved away from the contact-pen f, as shownin broken; but before said projection g passes from said step e anddrops onto the second step c the other projection g will also drop ontosaid first step e as shown in Fig. 6, and the contact-pen fwill thus bebrought into engagement with the contact-penf and the circuit closed. Asthe second, third, and fourth steps e e, and e pass beneath theprojections g and g the above-described operation will be repeated. Thenthe box-number signal-notches will arrive in position to cooperate withthe projections g g of the contact-pens; but, as herein shown, saidnotches are diiferently shaped from the steps 6 to e, and as aconsequence the action is somewhat different. As the first notch of thebox-number signal-notches passes beneath the projections 9 and g, firstthe projection g falls into said notch, and the contact-penfmoves awayfrom the'contact-pen f and opens the circuit;

then the projection'g falls into said notch just' as the projection g ispassing out of the notch, and the contact-penf moves into contact withthe contact-penfand closes the circuit, as represented in Fig. 10; thenthe projection 9 passes out of said notch and in doing so moves thecontact-pen f outward and also moves the contact-pen f outward with it,maintaining the continuity of the circuit; then said projection g fallsinto the second notch, but owing to Fig. 5, and the circuit will be thenarrow tooth between said first and second notches the projection g atthe same time falls back into the first notch, as shown in Fig. 11, sothat the continuity of the circuit is still maintained; then .theprojection 9 passes out of the first notch preparatory to falling intothe second notch while the projection g is moving along in said secondnotch, and the contact-pen f is thereby moved outward or away from thecontact-pen f and the circuit opened, as shown in Fig. 12; then theprojection g passes out of the second notch preparatory to falling intothe third notch before the projection 9 falls into said second notch,thereby moving the'conta'ct-penfoutward, closing the circuit; then theprojection g falls into the third notch, and at such time the,projection g falls into the second notch and the continuity of thecircuit is still maintained substantially as illustrated in Fig. 11, andon each succeeding notch the same operation is repeated. Thus one signalwill be transmitted, which in diagram would be represented by four dots,followed by the box-number 32, as shown in Fig. 14:.

In order that a number of different signals may be transmitted byemploying but one signal-Wheel a and one circuit-operating device ff, acontrolling device is provided for controlling the position of thecontact-pens ff relative to the signal-wheel, said cont-rol ling devicebeing constructed and arranged to hold said contact-pens in differentpositions relative to the signal-wheel, so that they may engage orcooperate with one or more of the different steps 6 to e and alsothereafter engage the box-number signal-notches, and

by means of a controlling device adapted to accomplish this result thebox-numbersignal will be transmitted in conjunction with any othersignal that the transmitter may be set to transmit. shown as having thecapabilities'above mentioned consists of a cam 71, of insulatingmaterial, secured to a shaft h, having its bear-.

ings in the frame (I d, and having attached to it a pointer W, by meansof which it may be turned at will, and .the contact-pens ff are suitablyextended and provided at their extremities with projections Q; i, whichengage said cam h, and said projectionsc' 01 are disposed one in advanceof the other, like the projections 9.9, and the cam h is designed tocooperate with either or both of said projections and also be move'dsoas not to cooperate with either one ofsaid projections. As the cam h isturned by. the pointer h? itwill passbeneath the projections iand t" andin'its different positions will obstruct the movement of thecontact-pens more or less in a direction toward the signalwheel (1,except that in one position it will be out of cooperative engagementwith both of .said contact-pens. In the position shown in Figs. 1 and 2the pointer occupies its extreme position to the right and the cam itoccupies a remote position from the projections 2' 'i',

The controlling .device herein.

third step e the projection 11f will'strike upon the earn it and thecontact-pen f will be held by said cam from further movement toward thesignal-wheel, and consequently the circuit will be held open, yet thecontact-pen is free to follow the irregularities of the signalwheel. Thecircuit will be thus held open until the projection g engages the raisedportion e of the signal-wheel and the contactpen f thereby moved intocontact with the contact-pen f','and this occurs just previous to thefirst notch of the boX-numbersignalingsurface arriving in position topass beneath the projections g g. signal-notches pass beneath theprojections g g the contact-pens will be operated, as heretoforedescribed, to breakand make the circuit. Thus a signal comprising twodots and a dash followed by the box-number is transmitted. By turningthe pointer, toward the left a predetermined distance the transmitterwill be set for thetransmission of a different signal, and when thepointer isthus turned As the box-number the cam h will be moved into'the position shown by dotted liues, Fig. 5, and with the parts in thisposition if the't'ransmitter is operated the previous operation will berepeated as the first step 6 passes beneath" the projections g g; butwhen the second st'ep' e passes beneath said projections g g bothprojections v1 and t" will'strike the cam h andwill be held by said camand the circuit held open. Thus it will be seen that by turning thecam'h into a number of different posi-" tions provided for it thecontact-pens will be held in different positions relative tothesignal-wheel and a number of different signals will be transmitted, and,as "herein shown,

seven different positions are provide'd. i

In Fig. 14 a diagram is shown of seven different signals which thetransmitter herein illustratedis capable of transmitting. Thep'ointer-shaft-h, bearing the cam h, is

supported in its bearings in such manner as:

to be movable endwise or longitudinally for a short distance, and ithasprojecting laterally from it one or more projectionsh ,'which moveover but continuously en'gagea toothed ring hflstationaril'y secured toone of the faceplatesas d, for instance-the teeth of said ring it beingmade V-shaped or triangular, so that said projections may move'over thering easily and whenlresti ng in any'of the notches of said ring 71.will hold the shaft' from being too easilyrotated. The teeth of the ringit are disposed to hold the shaft h,

withits cam h, in the several different positions required for thetransmission of the different signals. A spring 71 is mounted upon andconnected to said shaft h, which tends to throw said shaft forward andhold it with its projections h in firm engagement with the toothed ring.A restoring-spring j is also provided for said shaft h, (see Fig. 4,)which is attached at one end to the post j and at the opposite end toaflexible band 5', which is attached to a block j secured to said shafth, and said restoring-spring j is made strong enough to draw up theblock 7' and turn a shaft h whenever said shaft is permitted to turn.When the shaft It is pressed inward by the finger or by closing the doorof the box against it, the projections It will be disengaged from thetoothed ring h", and the shaft will at such times be permitted to turn,and the restoring-spring j will at such time be free to act and restorethe shaft. When the shaft h is restored, its pointer and cam will occupythe position shown in Figs. 1 and 2. A locking device is also providedfor locking the pointer-shaft h positively in whatever position it maybe set while the signal is being transmitted, and, as herein shown, saidlocking device consists of an arm is, mounted loosely upon the shaft ahaving a detent at its outer extremity which engages any one of a numberof notches cut or formed in a disk It, secured to the pointer-shaft h,and said detent-arm is is normally held out of engagement with said diskby a projection 15 secured to the winding-shaft a as shown in Fig. 1,and when occupying this position the pointer-shaft is free to be turned;but

whenever the Winding-arm. is operated the projection will be removedfrom the arm is, and said arm will at once be drawn into engagement withthe toothed disk 70' and held by means of a spring 70 which is connectedto it, and when in such engaging position the pointer-shaft will belocked. The detent-arm will remain in looking engagement with the disk70 until the winding-arm resumes its normal position, when theprojection 10 strikes said detent-arm 7c and disengages it from thetoothed disk is.

m represents a stop-pin for the pointershaft,which is struck by thetoothed disk when said shaft resumes its normal position.

The means herein described for locking the pointer and for restoring itautomatically is not herein claimed, as the same forms thesubject-matter of another application filed by me, Serial No. 134,757.

I claim 1. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having astepped signaling-surface, the steps of which are disposed at differentdistances from the axis of the wheel, a circuit-operating devicecooperating therewith, movable relatively thereto, toward and from saidaxis, a controlling device for holding said circuit-operating device indifierent positions relative to said signal-wheel, and means foroperating said controlling device, substantially'as described.

2. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having a steppedsignaling-surface, the steps of which are disposed at differentdistances from the axis of the wheel, a circuit-operating devicecooperating therewith, a pivoted support for said circuit-operatingdevice, whereby it is movable toward and from the axis of thesignal-wheel, a pointer, and means operated by it for holding saidcircuit-operating device in difierent relative positions to thesignal-wheel, whereby its codperation with the stepped signalingsurfaceof said wheel is varied, substantially as described.

3. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having a steppedsignaling-surface, the steps of which are disposed at differentdistances from the axis of the wheel, a circuit-operating devicecooperating therewith movable toward and from the axis of thesignal-wheel, a cam for holding said circuitoperating device indifferent relative positions to the signal-wheel, whereby itscooperation with the stepped signaling-surface of said wheel is variedand means for moving said cam, substantially asdescribed.

4:. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having a steppedsignaling-surface, the steps of which are disposed at differentdistances from the axis of the wheel, a circuit-operating device movabletoward and from the axis of the signal-wheel, which is operated by saidsignal-wheel and which comprises a pair of independently-movablecontact-pens, bearing cooperating contacts, normally in engagement witheach other, a controlling device for holding said circuitoperatingdevice in different positions relative to the signal-wheel, whereby itscodperation with the stepped signaling-surface of said wheel is varied,and means for operating said controlling device, substantially asdescribed.

5. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having a steppedsignaling-surface for a number of signals, the steps of which aredisposed at different distances from the axis of the wheel, acircuit-operating device operated by said signal-wheel comprising twoindependently-movable contact-pens, a controlling device for varying theposition of said circuit-operating device relative to the signal-wheeland means for operating it, substantially as described.

6. In a multiple-signal transmitter, a signal-wheel having a steppedsignaling-sur face for a number of signals, a circuit-operating devicecooperating with said signalwheel comprising a pair ofindependentlymovable contact-pens f, f each having a projection adaptedto engage said signal-wheel, said projections being disposed one in adlVance of the other, a controlling device for name to this specificationin the presence of varying the position of said circuit-operating twosubscribing witnesses.

device relative to the signal-wheel consisting of a movable cam andprojections on the aforesaid contact-pens), f disposed onein GEORGE KING5 advance of the other adaptedto cooperate vWitnesses:

with said cam, substantially as described. B; J. N OYES,

In testimony whereof I have-signed my 7 JENNIE-L. HUTOHINSON.

